AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Local nonprofits are struggling with rising costs. They need help from the community now, more than ever.
At the Golden Harvest warehouse, they are struggling to fill their shelves with food.
“Food has been a big issue here at the food bank,” said Nathan Krupa, the Annual Giving Officer at Golden Harvest. “These shelves are empty, and I’ve been here at the food bank for twelve years now and this is about as low as I’ve seen it.”
Part of this is because of a drop in donations. They’re also getting less food from their suppliers.
“We’re just not getting as much food as we normally get. I think what’s happening is their budgets are getting hit by the price increases,” Krupa said.
Transportation and gas prices have also been an issue when it comes to the many counties they serve.
“The cost of gas is up almost a dollar a gallon in the last year, so it’s an incredible increase in our cost of business of getting food out to people,” he said.
RISE Augusta, a nonprofit that helps children and students in poverty, has taken a hit as well.
“School administration, teachers, parents are coming to us and saying ‘look I can’t afford this, my child needs new jeans or new shoes and I just don’t have the money for it,'” said Laurie Cook, the Executive Director of RISE Augusta. “So we’ve been doing a lot more of that.”
They’re in need of school supplies, clothes and other necessities.
“We provide those things to children to help them stay in school so they can focus in school, but we’ve had a lot more requests than we normally have,” Cook said.
To find out how you can feed the hungry and support families who are struggling with inflation, you can visit both nonprofits’ websites at goldenharvest.com and riseaugusta.com.
